The Adventures Begin
by helsbels90
Summary: Sequel to The Dark Knight Meets Bright and Radiant. Six months after the events at Arkham, Niamh and Bruce are attempting to have a normal life - but this is impossible with Gotham needing Batman as much as ever and other forces acting against the city. As Niamh works on learning to defend herself, can they continue their relationship? And will other factors try to tear them apart?
1. Chapter 1: Not So Bright and Radiant

Author's Note: I own nothing. This will make a lot more sense if you have read The Dark Knight Meets Bright and Radiant. This is the sequel to it that was not planned but has happened anyway...thanks for all the support with the first one – enjoy and r+r!

Chapter 1: Not So Bright and Radiant:

**About six months after the end of The Dark Knight Meets Bright and Radiant.**

Niamh lay with her back to the window as the sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtain, she buried her head further into the pillow as she heard noises coming towards the bedroom, she was too comfortable to move. Suddenly the blankets were pulled away from her, disturbing her rest abruptly.

"Rise and shine! It's time to get up." Bruce sang throwing the covers onto the floor.

"Bruce! It's Sunday morning – do you know what that means?" Niamh grimaced as she tried to ignore the intrusion.

"It means nothing; you said you wanted me to teach you to defend yourself and the only way you'll learn is regular practice. Now get up and let's go"

"No it means I get a lie in, because it's my day off! I can train tomorrow morning"

"Come on – I haven't been to bed yet, so don't talk to me about lie ins. Has this got anything to do with the amount of alcohol you consumed last night?" Bruce grinned, knowing Niamh had been on the wrong side of merry the previous evening. A loud groan came from under the pillow Niamh had placed over her head.

"Ok I had one too many last night. I really can't face the training today – maybe this evening?" She tried to compromise.

"I would say more than one too many haha" Bruce laughed "You and Amy were all over the place!"

"Were you spying on me again?" Niamh frowned as Bruce gave up and collapsed onto the bed next to her.

"No, but Batman might have been keeping an eye out...Ouch" A pillow smashed into Bruce's face

"That line won't work with me I know the truth remember. Now pick up the duvet I'm getting cold!" Niamh scolded.

"Only if I get a kiss!" Bruce paused and waited for the small 'fine' that came from somewhere under the plush pillow before retrieving the duvet from the floor. He pried the pillow away from Niamh's face and kissed her lips, before she rolled into his arms and they fell asleep.

Two hours later the phone ringing shrilly disrupted the peace. Niamh groaned

"Phone calls shouldn't be allowed on Sundays!"

"What is it with you and Sundays? I have to keep pulling all nighters – I don't know what you're complaining about." Bruce began winding her up.

"Ahhh but you chose to resurrect the Batman – I on the other hand got dragged into your seedy little fancy dress world by accident! And you can stay in bed all day if you want tomorrow; I have to go into the office and keep your billionaire business afloat!" Niamh explained sitting up and stretching her back out. A knock at the door disrupted the play fight "Come in"

"Sorry to disturb you both, but its Mr Fox on the phone" Alfred explained smiling kindly.

"Thanks Alfred" Bruce began.

"Oh no Master Wayne, he doesn't want to speak to you, its Miss Niel he's after" Alfred corrected.

"oh right, well thanks anyway" He turned to Niamh "Must be important if he's calling on a Sunday"

"Now who's going on about it being Sunday?" Niamh grinned mischievously picking up the phone from the bedside table and selecting the right line to speak to Lucius. Bruce made for the shower, returning as Niamh put the phone back in its cradle.

"Everything ok?" He queried rubbing his dark hair dry with a towel

"Hopefully, looks like some paperwork has been missed so there's an unexplained order floating around for a fair bit of money – but you know Lucius he'll find out what's going on!"

"How are you feeling now?"

"Well my head isn't pounding anymore" Niamh laughed at herself

"You might want to give Amy a ring later she bashed her knee pretty hard when she fell over" Bruce suggested. Niamh thought for a moment, and then realisation crossed her face.

"Ooops I'd forgotten about that! I'm never drinking that many cocktails again"

"It could have been worse...one of the women who came out of the bar before you had her dress stuck in her knickers!" Bruce raised his eyebrows in disapproval.

"Ohhhh epic fail!" Niamh laughed

"Yeah bit like the two women who wandered down to a waiting Bentley singing 'Mamma Mia' and swaying all over the place. I've never seen Alfred shuffle anyone into a car so quickly; I didn't even know he could move so fast!" Bruce said straight faced. Niamh put her head in her hands and fell back onto the pillows.

"Oh God! Did we really do that?"

"Yes I'm afraid you did. And then apparently Amy told Alfred he was hot...Alfred's still got red cheeks! It's a good job I love you isn't it? Now get your backside out of that bed and move – you'll feel better for it" Bruce coaxed.

"No I won't and don't think I'm doing a five mile run to cleanse my body"

"Don't worry I won't" Bruce waited until she had disappeared into the bathroom before adding "Two miles should do for a warm up!"


	2. Chapter 2: Words

Chapter 2: Words.

Bruce strolled into the library, his bare feet padding quietly on the varnished floor boards, his jeans scuffing on the shining wood. He half smiled as he saw Niamh frantically typing on her laptop at the desk she had created near the window; she spent far more time in the room than he did anyway. She didn't even look up when he stood directly behind her chair with his large hands on her small shoulders. Frowning, Bruce looked at the folders that were piled up around her and the spreadsheet that was open on the screen. They were all related to orders and jobs descriptions for Wayne Enterprises.

"What's all this?" Bruce questioned, it was half past seven in the evening.

"Work!" Niamh sighed exasperatedly as if the question was completely unnecessary.

"Here look at this – your picture is in the paper this evening!" Bruce handed her the newspaper, assuming the story would make her laugh. Unfortunately for him it didn't have the desired affect immediately.

"Oh wonderful!" She grimaced scanning the article below the colour photograph of the couple strolling around New York, casually holding hands. "According to this – which I'm sure is very reliable – I'm only with you for your money!"

"And apparently I seem to think that sleeping with my female employees is in their job description and I hire purely on their physical appearance." He added as she continued to read quickly.

"Funny because you didn't hire me, Lucius did and I know that clause isn't in my contract!" Niamh sighed, she knew he was trying to cheer her up, but her mind was overflowing with other things.

"I should really get that changed for the next time I hire staff" Bruce pretended to seriously consider the prospect. Niamh couldn't help but smile at his comment.

"Thinking of sacking me already? And you know that legal would never allow such an amendment..." She began.

"It could be an oral contract!" Bruce began a grin splitting across his face; she cut him off before he could continue by holding up her hand.

"Stop right there Mr Wayne I know where this line of innuendos is going!" She shook her head, as he grabbed her hand and kissed its palm.

"Your wish is my command. But as your boss I'm commanding that you stop working – its way out of office hours."

"I really wish that I could Bruce, but I have to get this done. Do you have any idea what is going on at Wayne Enterprises right now?" Niamh paused for effect, knowing that Bruce couldn't answer "No, I thought not. Well you remember Lucius phoned yesterday – about a missing order? He's looked into it and he can't explain it – and other's have surfaced and we can't explain those either. So we are having to instigate a stock take" She threw him a serious expression as he looked like he might interrupt "And an internal investigation into where the hell these orders are coming from and where they are going to."

"But surely that's someone else's problem Niamh, your senior management, other people should be doing this, you have other things to deal with"

"You're telling me – you haven't asked what the orders concern!" Niamh pointed out tight lipped, she was getting irritated, Bruce knew so little about what was going on in his own company.

"Ok – what are the orders for?" He questioned

"Do you even care?" She retorted, he shrugged slightly; Niamh shook her head angrily standing up and pacing a short way from him. "They are weapons orders Bruce."

"We deal with weapons technologies and you are one of the few who knows what happens to some of the prototypes we procure."

"No, Bruce they are nothing to do with the official company dealings or Batman's activities. They are multiple weapons orders that are not authorised legitimately and are disappearing. This is serious and you have no idea what's going on – and what's almost worse it that it's like you don't care!" Niamh's voice rose slightly. Bruce looked at her, she looked tired and stressed; her cheeks were pale and her eyes were heavy with worry.

"It's true, I haven't been focusing on the company – but I have made sure that I have put good people in control of it – you and Lucius. I have total faith in you two and I know that you will do the right thing." Bruce tried to explain.

"It's not enough though. You are the head of the company – it's your name! Your family's name, you don't know from one day to the next whether it's flourishing, you just get told by the accountants that you're making a decent profit. But underneath all that it could be going rotten and you wouldn't have the first idea. No one see's you in Wayne Tower so they think that you can't even be bothered to show up, but that you are happy to spend the money that they work hard to make for you! The only thing you care about is Batman!" Niamh fumed.

"That's not true, I care about other things and you know it!" Bruce raised his voice slightly, becoming defensive.

"Yeah your right you do. But Batman has taken over everything – and I'm not denying that you are doing the right thing in keeping him alive, Gotham needs him – but you've lost the balance you used to have in your life. He has taken over!"

"And the streets are safer because of it! Batman saved you remember, you didn't moan then did you."

"Gotham needs Batman. But Gotham also needs Bruce Wayne! And so do I!" Niamh yelled back at him, unable to control her anger, she stormed out of the library and headed to their bedroom slamming the door loudly. Bruce looked around him, he was no good at dealing with problems in his personal life, he didn't know whether to go after her or not. So instead of facing his own issues, he disappeared into the night to deal with the issues on the streets of Gotham.


	3. Chapter 3: Resolutions and Repairs

Chapter 3: Resolutions and Repairs

The bat cave as it was known to the few who were aware of its existence was freezing, even in May. Niamh hugged her arms around her torso to stop herself from shivering, determined to stay awake until Bruce returned. Almost as soon as she had slammed the door she wanted to go out and apologise for shouting at him. She hated arguing, and while some of her sentiments were true and needed to be said, there were better ways of expressing them. When she had appeared shortly after storming away, Bruce had already gone; so she had spent several hours waiting for him to reappear. As her eyes began to drift closed again, she heard the Bat splash back through the waterfall that concealed the entrance to the cave.

Bruce brought the vehicle to a halt and rubbed his neck. He spotted Niamh waiting on a hard back chair; she looked very cold and very tired. He immediately felt guilty; he should have stayed to talk to her. Stepping out of the black tank, he couldn't help but smile, they had argued and yet here she was waiting up for him – in the cold and the dark, that must be a good sign. He pulled the cowl and mask off his head, limping slightly as he walked towards her. Niamh stood up, attempting to find her hands in the overly large sleeves of one of Bruce's jumpers.

"How long have you been waiting down here?" He questioned, rubbing her arms

"A while, I wanted to apologise to you. I feel awful, I hate arguing with you!" She insisted, Bruce pulled her into a hug "And when I came to find you and say I was sorry you'd already gone and I couldn't shake the idea that something might happen to you and I wouldn't get chance to say it!" Niamh face was filled with trouble and it was Bruce's turn to feel the need to apologise.

"I'm not angry with you, and I should have stayed instead of running off. I worked out you didn't really mean what you said, it was a heat of the moment thing and we both got angry." He explained turning to sit on the edge of a table, hands still on Niamh's waist. Niamh's lips pursed.

"Ahhh, I wanted to apologise for the way I said those things, for arguing – but I stand by what I said." Niamh explained tentatively, the last thing she wanted was another argument

"So it's not really an apology then" He frowned.

"It is! I won't lie to you and say I didn't mean those things. You mean too much to me for that – but I don't want to fight. Batman has taken over and I think Bruce needs to reassert his control; I need him to" She tilted her head slightly to the left, smiling uncertainly. Bruce thought for a moment, finally beginning to process what she was telling him. He nodded.

"I think I get what you're saying!"

"Good" Niamh whispered, sighing with relief as she leant forward to kiss his cheek. She placed a hand on the top of his leg and instantly pulled it away, frowning as she looked down at her palm. Horror crossed her face. "Oh my... Bruce you're bleeding – a lot!" She gasped. Bruce looked down and adjusted his cape so that he could see the large gash at the top of his thigh.

"I didn't think it was that bad. Don't panic its fine. Let's go up to the house and get Alfred to sort it out – he's good at cross stitch" Bruce calmly instructed her.

"That's not funny!" Niamh admonished him, putting an arm around his waist in case he needed support.

Alfred wasn't surprised when Niamh shook him awake, apologising and explaining as he followed her to the kitchen. She watched in concern as Alfred deftly cleaned, stitched and dressed the deep wound. Bruce remained passive, although it must have been painful. He beckoned Niamh to where he sat, taking her hands while Alfred cleared the medical supplies away.

"You look exhausted and you have work in the morning you should go to bed." He could tell she was about to argue "No, no arguments, I'm fine I promise. I'm just going to have some food and then get some sleep too. Please get some rest – I don't want to have to worry about you making yourself ill on top of everything else." He pulled Niamh towards him and placed a chaste kiss on her lips before releasing her hands. Alfred watched as she ambled off towards the staircase, and then turned his attention to Bruce.

"Every couple has their differences Master Wayne" the butler offered, "its natural – but you think she's worth fighting for – so that is what matters!" Alfred commented, preparing eggs for scrambling. Bruce narrowed his eyes at the older man.

"When did you become the relationship expert?"

"I spent years observing your mother and father sir, they argued, they disagreed – but, they were always stronger together. Partly because they talked instead of running away." Alfred raised his eyebrows as he stirred the pan on the stove. Bruce ran his hands through his hair.

"What do you suggest then Alfred, I assume you know what we have disagreed about." Bruce leant his elbows on the kitchen table, resting his head on his fists.

"Miss Niel did mention the cause of the disagreement, yes. I would say compromise is the answer sir. Turn up to the office once in a while, look over some files, show that you do care about the business, prove to her that you can be Bruce Wayne and Batman – prove it to us all!"

"So that involves me compromising and Niamh winning?" Bruce observed.

"Yes, Master Wayne it does – because she is right!" Alfred said simply, buttering the lightly browned toast.


	4. Chapter 4: Winning and Losing

Chapter 4: Winning and Losing

Three weeks later.

The early June sun was just rising as Niamh and Bruce came to the end of their training session. They were sparring on mat in the middle of the Bat cave, both slightly out of breath following the intensive workout Bruce had insisted on. He laughed as Niamh dodged one of his punches, and returned with a painful kick to his shin. She had stopped worrying about hurting him many weeks ago. The morning training sessions always made Bruce laugh inwardly, Niamh hated getting up early – but she did it. She also hated wearing tracksuit bottoms, they didn't suit her and she knew it; so Bruce had bought her some new work out attire and it was the first day she was trying it out.

"How's the new outfit Niel?" He questioned shifting from side to side as he plotted his next move.

"Comfy!" Niamh retorted studying his face.

"Lycra suits you" He said referring to the skin tight leggings she was sporting.

"And there was me thinking you were being generous, but you were just being a pervert!" she groaned as he blocked a jab from her left hand easily. They continued to fight hand to hand for another five minutes, until Niamh successfully pinned Bruce down to the mat, smiling at him triumphantly. He was a little shocked, it was the first time she had managed it completely unaided. Occasionally he would make a deliberate mistake; allowing her to predict his attack or purposefully failing to block her in time. In reality few were as capable as Bruce so he allowed her some victories, and it also served to keep her morale up. Today, however, was different, he hadn't allowed her to beat him, she had managed that all by herself. Niamh was good! Bruce's grin was so wide, she had to question it. "What?"

"That was the first time I haven't let you get the better of me – that was authentic! You did it! Well done, I'm proud of you" He acknowledged, her smile grew too.

"Wow! I'm impressed at myself" Niamh admitted, pulling her blonde hair out of its ponytail. Bruce took the opportunity to shift the weight balance and roll them over so he was leaning over her. "Not fair, I thought we'd finished"

"We have! You won, you can defend yourself more than adequately, I'm just congratulating you" He explained kissing her lips passionately, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I have to go to work" She groaned "Hang on – I just beat Batman at his own game!"

"You'll be saving Gotham next – I'll be redundant" Bruce joked, as he let her stand up, she threw a towel at his face, and looked at him with her hands on her hips.

"There's no way on this earth that you would catch me running round wearing a cape, even in the dead of night!" Niamh insisted.

Dressed in a smart charcoal gray pencil dress Niamh strode into the elevator at Wayne Tower, feeling more than a little bit smug. She couldn't stop smiling and she felt amazing. Since she had started training with Bruce, her body had become more toned and firm, she hadn't lost weight, but she felt she looked better. Niamh also felt better, healthier and stronger. It wasn't just the physical aspects of her life that felt better, Niamh was happy – more than that she was content. She and Bruce had their arguments, but that was normal, and they weren't too serious. Following their argument a few weeks earlier, Bruce had even made an effort to take on board what she had said, he had turned up to the office several times and taken more of an interest in what was going on. It wasn't about winning the argument, it was about making sure that Bruce was doing the right thing and the business was part of that. The doors of the elevator parted and Niamh walked through them smiling pleasantly at the world in general, until she saw the look on Lucius' face.

"Niamh these men are from homeland security, they want to talk to us regarding..." Lucius was interrupted by one of the visitors.

"The orders that Wayne Enterprises have been placing recently. We are concerned by the amount of weapons and related articles that the company have been procuring, there's enough to march a small army and therefore we are naturally interested in the reasons behind this."He informed her arrogantly. Niamh swallowed, this was serious, the government thought they were a threat.

"You had better come into my office. Amy -" She turned to her assistant and friend " Could you get hold of Bruce, tell him he needs to get into the office right now; tell him I said it was imperative! Please, don't take no for an answer" She requested, motioning towards the men in suits with her eyes. Amy understood and nodding immediately picked up the phone to contact Bruce.

"Miss Neil I think we should make ourselves clear from the outset, we aren't just here to discuss the matter, although we would like to hear your explanation. We are here to start an official investigation."

"I understand your concern, really I do. We have launched our own internal investigation, which is still ongoing, as soon as we realised that these mystery orders were being placed we wanted to find out what was going on" Niamh insisted.

"So you are saying that you had no knowledge of the orders being placed Miss Niel, that Wayne Enterprises didn't authorise them?"

"No, we were unaware until the accounts were reviewed and some unexplained expenditure was highlighted about three weeks ago. Since then we have been trying to identify the source." Niamh was nervous.

"You don't deny that Wayne Enterprises has associations with weapons development?"

"No, but then why should we deny it, we purchase patented materials that could be developed to make sure that they are put into production for the armed forces or if they are inappropriate that they do not fall into the wrong hands."

"Do you keep any kind of weapons on site?" The man in the black suit demanded. Niamh looked to Lucius who took over.

"Yes in the basement, we use it as a kind of archive area – the security is top notch and we have worked with the army in the past to ensure that every effort is made to avoid misuse etcetera." Lucius explained defending his department. "I can show you" He suggested, the men stood and Lucius threw a grateful look at Niamh. She had suggested when Bruce and Batman first returned to Gotham that anything associated with him should be kept totally separate to the company and particularly away from the basement in case of eventualities such as this. There was no way of explaining some of the items away, but as they were secure underneath Wayne Manor they would not be drawn into the investigation.

As Niamh was left in the office alone, she realised that her good mood and smugness had vanished. Bruce burst through the door, straightening his tie looking flustered.

"What the hell's going on Amy said there was a security problem that you needed me here straight away, she basically told me the world was about to end? You look worried – that's never a good sign!"

"The government are launching an investigation into the company Bruce. They want to know what's going on with the rogue weapons orders. This is trouble in capital letters. They could shut us down!" She was on the verge of frustrated tears. Bruce grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her, trying to soothe her.

"It won't come to that, we won't let it!"

"They're down in the basement with Lucius, investigating what we have in stock" Niamh informed him.

"Thank god for your ability to plan for almost everything Niamh. Try not to panic, we have nothing to hide" At that Niamh widened her eyes "Ok well apart from the obvious, we have nothing to hide and they will find that! We just have to cooperate".


	5. Chapter 5: Confessions

Chapter 5: Confessions

Authors Note: thank you so much for the reviews, they really keep me going with the writing, I hope that you are all enjoying – it's more of a crime/suspense thing than action (because I don't think that I can write action!), please keep reading and reviewing!

The lights were just starting to twinkle in the evening sky over Gotham, from the office suite on the top floor of Wayne Tower the view was stunning, but tonight no one seemed to notice. Bruce and Lucius sat on armchairs opposite each other in Niamh's plush office, while she paced the floor in front of her desk, her high heels kicked off to the side of the large mahogany desk.

"Niamh please will you stop pacing you'll wear a hole in the carpet if you carry on like this." Bruce pleaded from his seat, loosening his tie.

"Sorry" She answered but continued to pace absent mindedly, until Lucius put a hand on her arm as he stood to make some more coffee. Finally she halted and made her way to the small two seater sofa by the armchairs. She sat curling her long legs underneath her. Bruce went to help with the drinks and handed her a mug of fruit tea, deciding she had had too much caffeine for one day. Niamh took the steaming mug from him gratefully.

"So – how bad are we actually talking?" Bruce mused; he had spent most of the day speaking to the investigating officials, but was still mostly unaware of the actual situation. Niamh took a sip before she replied.

"Pretty bad. In fact worse than that. The orders were for some pretty serious weapons, and matching ammunition. I'm surprised it hasn't been flagged up before – internally and externally. We'll have to review that when this is over. The orders have been going to separate locations in Gotham, mainly the Narrows and some of the surrounding areas. But there have been a few delivered outside of the city limits. They are all derelict buildings as far as we can tell and there's no one in them – they must be waiting for the deliveries and then moving them."

"What kind of weapons?" Bruce pouted.

"Guns: hand guns and shot guns. One of the last orders was also for some anti-tank missiles. You can see why people are getting edgy – they were all bought in bulk, so who ever has them has a pretty powerful armoury." Niamh explained quietly.

"But they'll realise that it isn't legitimate Wayne Enterprises business surely" He offered. Lucius and Niamh exchanged a look.

"The thing is Bruce they recently tightened up the rules surrounding weapon procurement and we were involved in creating a legal agreement that has to be signed in order for any corporation to legally invest in and purchase weapons technology. Now it looks like we are corrupt and placing illegal orders – it's not good and they will come down hard on us – even if they prove it wasn't a legitimate venture, we didn't spot it. " Bruce looked surprised at the information regarding the agreement, Niamh sighed "You said that you wanted to tighten up weapons trading, so we went ahead and worked with the government and the UN, but you missed all of the meetings. You haven't attended a board meeting in over four months – and I'm not saying that this is your fault before you get offended – what I'm saying is that you don't know what's going on in your own company. I bet you couldn't answer half the questions they asked you in your interview."

"Less than that" Bruce admitted, shifting in his seat, she was right and he knew it

"The long and the short of it is that they could realistically cease our trading and not just in weapons technologies but in all departments, and I know that you aren't worried about the profits. But think about it – all the things you do, that comes from the company's profits. I'm not talking about the cars and parties; I mean the charity work, the legacies, the Batman – all of those are funded from the profits of this company. You'd have enough to live on and then a hell of a lot more if we shut the doors for good tomorrow – but everything else would suffer. The people whose lives you've changed for the better, whether they know it or not. And we have thousands of employees all over the world who rely on us to survive and support their families. That is how serious it is!" Her face was sad as she finished, looking him directly in the eye. He stroked his chin trying to think.

"I'm afraid she's right Mr Wayne. But this is a fight and it's not over yet – and we all know you normally win your fights. Now if you'll excuse me, there's some information I want to get printed off in case those suited monkeys decide they want to take all my computer files. I'll see you in the morning." Lucius squeezed Niamh's shoulder before exiting the office.

There was an awkward pause, as both Niamh and Bruce thought in silence. Finally Bruce sat forward and clasped his hands together, all joking aside, his face deadly serious.

"Thank you!" He half whispered.

"What for? Failing to run your company properly?" She grimaced, pulling her hair from its pony tail and trying to massage her scalp.

"You think this is your fault? It's not. Whoever it is knows what they are doing, knows how to work the system – you two are the most capable people I know. The only ones I would trust with this job."Bruce tried to reassure her. "I meant thank you for being so honest with me. I've spent my whole life being told what I wanted to hear – and most of the time it hasn't helped me. People tell me lies, because they want me on their side, more importantly they want my money. Alfred is the only person who has been totally honest with me, and you; since you came into my life. You've never been afraid to tell me the truth, to treat me as a normal person! Even Rachel lied to me, as hard as it was for me to admit it, she lied to me right before she died – although I'm sure she thought she was doing the right thing; but it almost hurt more than if she had just been honest with me" the words came pouring out of his mouth, Niamh sat silently taking it all in, she had never heard him say anything bad about Rachel.

"But you are a normal person Bruce!" Niamh finally managed to reply, he snorted a laugh and stood up to move over to sit next to her on the sofa "You make it sound like you are some sort of deformed monster" she made him smile, he put a hand on her knee.

"I know that I'm a normal person, but everyone else sees something different."

"Then they aren't lucky enough to know the real you then are they? They can't see past your money, but some of us can" She was serious, but then she couldn't help but throw some sarcasm in "And you know me and Alfred would still like you even if you lost all your money I suppose" He laughed, really laughed at her comment. She joined in, and then shivered, the evening had drawn in and the office was draughty.

"Here put this on!" He slipped his suit jacket off and draped it over her shoulders, pulling her against his chest, so that he could hold her.

"I have to tell you something...when I said I would still like you if you didn't have any more money I wasn't exactly being truthful" Niamh began, Bruce furrowed his eyebrows, leaning back slightly to look at her face. "What I should have said that I would still love you if you lost your money!" She finished smiling up at him. Bruce Wayne closed his eyes smiling widely.

"And now my life is complete!" He sighed, looking down at her face "I love you so much it hurts do you know that?" Niamh reached up and cupped his face in her hands, placing a firm kiss on his lips which he returned happily.

Throughout the night Batman had been watching over the streets of Gotham, there was nothing going on and the streets were safer than when he had originally returned, but he was worried, he knew that the weapons were out there somewhere. He had returned to Wayne Manor just after six o'clock the next morning, as a tired looking Niamh wandered down the staircase to complete the morning tasks he had set her in the gym. She looked ratty, he smiled to himself, she had never been a morning person; so he pecked her cheek as they passed and left her to wake up properly. Three quarters of an hour later, he was in a comfortable sleep, when the bed covers were ripped off him and he heard and felt a thud as something hard landed right next to his face on the pillow.

"What the hell is this?" Niamh's voice demanded angrily. Bruce pried one eye open to view the piece of black armour.

"Ahhh well its part of a suit, like a batman suit..."

"But not from a suit for Batman is it Bruce? Because it wouldn't fit you, because it's too small and it seems to have allowed space for parts of anatomy that you don't have." She explained for him "I told you that there is no way I'm wearing a suit and flying around the city at night. Even if I wanted to I wouldn't – because you wouldn't be concentrating on your own safety if I was out there too would you? And I couldn't live with being the reason you got hurt. I trained because I wanted to be able to defend myself if I had to – that's all!" She was adamant. He sat up to face her properly

"I know, and believe it or not I did listen. The only reason I've had a suit made for you is for training – it would help me to be able to go up against someone in a similar suit with similar training." He explained. Immediately Niamh felt awful. She sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed her face, head drooped.

"I'm so sorry; I thought...oh I don't know what I thought." She shrugged her shoulders. Shoulders which Bruce grabbed.

"I should have explained. Now you have enough to worry about without getting upset about shouting at me. Anyway I quite like it when you're angry..." He kissed the back of her neck and she hit him with a pillow before standing up to get ready for work.

"For what it's worth though I am sorry – I always seem to be snapping at you recently."

"Wow – you know what that means don't you?" Bruce urged his face deadly straight before continuing with a charming grin "We are serious now – if we are arguing and it's not all champagne and flowers then we Miss Niel are in a serious relationship!" Niamh couldn't help but laugh.


	6. Chapter 6: Summer Nights

Chapter 6: Summer Nights

It had been hot and humid in Gotham all day, and the warmth was still permeating the rooms of Wayne Manor during the early evening. After eventful days both Niamh and Bruce had felt the need to shower and change before they sat together to eat dinner. Bruce had spent most of the day traipsing around the Narrows, subtly investigating the addresses that the rogue orders had been delivered to. To his dismay he had found nothing, not even a carelessly dropped cigarette butt or tissue that could have been used to glean DNA evidence from. It had frustrated him beyond belief and he knew that Niamh's day hadn't been much better, she had been interviewed over every last detail of the company's dealings and how their systems worked. Clearly promoting her to a senior manager's position had been a blessing for the company, but a curse for her stress levels. The suited investigator, they now knew to be called Robert Anderson was relentless in his inquiries.

"So what now? More work? Can I help with it?" Bruce questioned, looking at her as she finished her fruit salad. She had her hair down, but she hadn't bothered to straighten it, he decided he liked the way it curled naturally, especially against her bare shoulders that the floral summer dress she was wearing showed off.

"Yes and yes, I could really do with a hand – aren't you going out tonight though?"

"Maybe later, if anything really bad happens the police control will be made aware of it and my system will flag it up to me. Batman can't be around all the time and you look like you could do with a hand and then a decent night's sleep." He explained, Niamh smiled gratefully. "So what are we delving into tonight?"

"I've managed to sneak some boxes of files out – personnel and stuff, see if we can find anything out of the ordinary that could give us a clue. It's most likely to be someone working in Wayne Tower, because of the order systems, but there are a lot of people in that place." Niamh picked up her half full wine glass and stood up "I've laid everything out in the ballroom on that massive table Alfred uses for buffets." Bruce followed suit, picking up his glass and the wine bottle in one hand and grabbing Niamh's in his other; she leant into his side. He smiled to himself thinking 'this is how summer evenings should be spent – but without the nightmares from the office'.

Niamh hadn't been joking when she said there was a lot of paperwork; it was laid out in piles she had organised along the very large table.

"Well it's not the best party we've ever had but I'll roll with it!" He shrugged playfully, he was thrilled to see Niamh genuinely laugh back, she was back in positive mode. Alfred wondered in some time later when Bruce was sat surrounded by a mass of paperwork, he was carrying a cheese platter.

"I thought you might like the cheese board in here Master Wayne? Can I get you anything Miss Niel?" He questioned as Niamh wrinkled her small nose up at the sight of the blue cheese, she despised the stuff.

"No thanks Alfred, I'm good with the wine!" She replied toasting him with her glass.

"Would you like me to bring some more up; I can fetch another bottle from the cellar for you?"

"Are you trying to get her drunk Alfred?" Bruce pretended to disapprove, as Niamh declined the offer of more alcohol, the last thing she needed was a hangover at the moment.

"Very well Miss Niel" He choose to ignore Bruce's comments "Makes a nice change to see you doing some of your own work there Master Wayne if I may say so" Alfred commented in his unique sarcastic but respectful way, grinning.

"It does doesn't it Alfred, I thought it was time to review some of the staff – maybe I'll move on to the household staff next, we could do with a new butler for starters" Bruce teased affectionately looking at the notepad he had on his lap thoughtfully.

"Hang on if he goes I go!" Niamh stated, winking at Alfred, Bruce looked at the pair of them shaking his head jovially.

"And if she goes, then I go, because Master Wayne if you let Miss Niel walk away then it would be the single most idiotic thing you have ever done " He paused at the door before adding "and I've seen you to some really stupid things, sir!" Bruce and Niamh burst out laughing.

Joining him on the floor with another pile of folders, Niamh smiled at Bruce, grateful for his help and understanding.

"Does Anderson not need these files?"

"Yeah. But I had Amy make copies of all of it before they picked the originals of this lot up this morning. Hence the massive bill for her overtime we are going to get for last night; and I may also have promised her you'd send us on a spa weekend soon" Niamh smiled sweetly at him "Anyway they've taken so much of our stuff away, they won't notice that we forgot to hand over a few boxes for a little while. Easy mistake to make" Niamh explained in mock innocence."Lucius and I have been over everything related to orders these last few weeks and you know apart from the delivery addresses there is no paper trail what so ever."

"Like we've already said it must be someone within the company to know how the systems work and cover everything up as they go. That means someone, who probably smiles at us everyday – well you I'm never there - is secretly responsible for stockpiling weapons for whatever reason I don't even want to think about at the moment!" Bruce sighed.

"Do you know how many people we employ have a criminal record – I mean seriously, some people should not be in that building!" Niamh was slightly horrified at the reality.

"I don't really have much to do with hiring and firing remember. And the only appointment I used to be involved with was our suites receptionist – but you've banned me from that now!" Bruce raised his eyebrows referring to the incident that had occurred just after he had returned to Gotham and led to him being removed from the panel interviewing staff for his office suite. "I mean she wasn't really that bad!"

"Yes she was!" Niamh exclaimed

"Chanelle was a lovely, intelligent young woman"

"She couldn't run a tap let alone an office. And she was inappropriate"

"Little bit harsh, she just liked low cut tops." Bruce continued his mock defence; Niamh slanted her eyes in his direction.

"You could see nipple" She let the statement hang and Bruce couldn't argue with it "Did you really want your important clients walking into the office to be greeted by that – and don't say they would have liked it! Lucius nearly had a heart attack, that's why she had to go and you were stopped from making the decision on who replaced her." Niamh was struggling not to laugh. Bruce decided to change the subject.

"So how many druggies have we got on the books?"

"Probably too many to count, but there's a couple of blokes who've been charged with sexual assaults and one who was sent to prison for a serious assault." Niamh was genuinely concerned, as she handed him one of the personnel files.

"Another thing we'll have to review, my previous managers have a lot to answer for." He glanced at the photo attached of one of the men charged with sexual assault "I got in the lift with him the other day!"

"Don't worry I think he was more into women than men" Niamh assured him.

"But you were already in the lift with him on your own when I got in." Bruce made his point.

"I bet a lot of our female employees have been as well – I'm not happy about it and it's on the list to address, maybe we could speak to Jim Gordon about any information the police have got on our workers and these orders?"

The door opened as Niamh finished speaking, and a flustered looking Alfred entered, Bruce sensed something was wrong.

"Sir, Miss Niel, there's someone here to see you. I told him you were busy – but he insisted." Robert Anderson strolled past Alfred, grinning smugly.

"Mr Bruce Wayne – I'm here to arrest you!" he said, with far too much pleasure.


	7. Chapter 7: Acting

Chapter 7: Acting

Author's Note: Thanks again for the reviews. I know some of you are getting a little bit frustrated with Niamh, but just bear with me! This is more of a filler chapter so I apologise if it isn't that exciting.

**3 days after Bruce's arrest**

Niamh sat at her desk massaging her temples slowly; she had the headache from hell, literally and metaphorically. Bruce had been detained in the high security prison on the outskirts of Gotham, he had been denied bail at any cost and his visits and phone calls were limited. She felt lost without him, the house was empty and while she was used to him not being there at night, she wanted to cry because she knew he wouldn't be coming back without some miracle. Bruce's absence in her personal life was only part of the problem, however, the government had limited the actions Wayne Enterprises could take, particularly the purchases they could make until the matter was resolved one way or another, with some accounts being frozen. The board members were understandably concerned, as were suppliers and clients – both Niamh and Lucius had spent the whole morning inundated with phone calls from concerned and in some cases irate businessmen and women from across several continents. Lucius walked into her office, smiling half-heartedly, handing her a press statement.

"What time is the press conference?" Niamh asked, straightening her crisp white shirt, but she didn't really care what she looked like anymore, it wasn't her biggest concern.

"Three o'clock. There is something else though and it isn't something we haven't really discussed yet" Lucius sat opposite her; she nodded for him to continue. He passed her the mornings newspaper, she gasped at the article he had highlighted.

"Shit" was the only word she could manage for a few moments. The paper had linked Bruce Wayne's imprisonment to the absence of Batman on Gotham's streets during the night. Scanning through she noted that there was no real evidence, but Niamh knew that rumours were all that it would take in this city. Especially as the absence was likely to continue until they could legally prove that Bruce was innocent and that meant identifying the true culprit. "How are we going to disprove this?" She looked helplessly up at Lucius.

"We can spread some rumours, create some false sightings on social networking sites and the like, but what else can we do other than deny, deny, deny." He began. Amy popped her brunette head around the door; smiling apologetically.

"Sorry Niamh, but that Mr Anderson is on the way up, I thought that you would like to know!" Amy explained before disappearing.

"Wonderful" She gathered her thoughts together and chucked the newspaper into one of her drawers. "Mr Anderson what can we do for you now?" Niamh tried her best to be polite and helpful.

"Just a few questions Ms Niel. There are some rumours that Mr Wayne is the Batman – is this true?" He said seriously. Lucius looked at the floor waiting to see how Niamh would play this. She laughed.

"I'm sorry you actually think that Bruce is Batman – the caped vigilante who spends his nights running around the city stopping crime. That would require him being totally altruistic; and while Bruce is very generous in his donations to charitable organisations – let's face it he has the money to fritter away. He's way too self-absorbed and vain to spend his nights doing something to help ordinary citizens. Bruce is more the type to sit with a bottle or three of red from an excellent vintage." Niamh lied, the drama lessons she had taken at school were finally paying off.

"But you're dating him?" Anderson questioned somewhat surprised at her candid response.

"Exactly – so I should know him best. And I think I would have noticed if he kept sneaking off in the middle of the night, I'm not one to silently put up with adultery so I would have questioned it Mr Anderson. Although feel free to search Wayne Manor for traces of Batman if you like, don't worry about getting a warrant I'll call ahead to Alfred." She had shocked him and thrown him off the scent.

"No, Ms Niel thank you for your help, I appreciate it."

"Not a problem – I'll help in any way I can to prove Bruce's innocence. The rumours – did they come from Sam Harker? He's a reporter for the Post and has hated Bruce for years, something to do with him sleeping with Harker's wife. He went through a rebellious phase before my time here." Niamh smiled sweetly as Anderson exited her office.

"Wow!" stated Lucius after they were sure Anderson had left, "I'm impressed"

"Thanks" Niamh said as she sat back down at her desk, Lucius left and she sat deep in thought, how on earth were they going to quash the rumours about Batman's identity? A thought crossed her mind, it was drastic; but there was one way that Batman could continue to watch the streets with Bruce behind bars.


	8. Chapter 8: Copycats

Chapter 8: Copycats

The first night that Niamh had ventured onto the dangerous, crime ridden streets of Gotham, dressed in her version of the Batman suit she had only ever intended to be seen. She had never meant to become involved in any sort of vigilante violence. The plan had been to be spotted a few times, so that the press and public would be thrown off the notion that Bruce was Batman; but as with most things, the evening had not exactly gone to plan. Niamh had encountered two men in their late twenties, robbing a middle aged woman, and in her mind they were enjoying the woman's fear a little too much. So she had had to intervene, saving the unknown woman and leaving the criminals with their hands tied up at the back door of a police precinct. The adrenaline rush had been incredible for Niamh, she felt empowered and strong – she felt like this was what she had been born to do. So for the following nights Niamh had begun to seek out crimes as Bruce did, no longer hiding, slightly visibly from the sidelines.

Not only did Niamh feel like she was doing something worthwhile for the citizens of Gotham, she found that her night time escapades took her mind off how much she missed Bruce. Sometimes during the day, in the office she found that her emotions threatened to overwhelm her; his noticeable absence at the Tower and the Manor did nothing to help her sense of loss. But the time she spent patrolling the streets cleared her mind in some respects.

Niamh wandered into her office just after eleven, it was late for her to arrive, but she needed some sleep after the hours she had spent tackling Gotham's criminals. She wore a pencil skirt with a three-quarter length sleeve blouse, despite the warm weather – mainly to cover up the bruises she had gained on her arms.

"Morning!" She smiled wearily at Lucius. He waved at her, at first he had been concerned when he found out that she was the one impersonating Batman; but he knew how determined she could be and more to the point she was resilient – even good at what she was doing. "What have you found, it sounded urgent"

"I think I may have a clue as to who is behind all of the orders. We took him on just before all of the orders started and I've just double checked his references – they are false."

"Did we not check them when we offered him the job?"

"I spoke to personnel and apparently they checked out at the time, but the numbers ring out and on further checks the companies don't exist. He probably just had someone to answer the phone and lie." Lucius explained as Niamh nodded slowly "But what really alerted my suspicions is that since Bruce was arrested he hasn't turned up to work and we haven't been able to contact him."

"Definitely looks a bit suspicious. What department did he work in?"

"Procurement!" Lucius informed her.

"Well that would explain how he got around all of the order protocols. What's his name?" Niamh rubbed a sore spot on the back of her neck.

"Leon Aguillon." Lucius handed her his personnel file, which had a small photo, used on his id card attached to the front. She frowned; Niamh had never seen him before. "I don't recall ever seeing him either, but that was probably his plan – keep low key and fly under the radar."

"He certainly did that. I'll give Jim Gordon a call see if he can help us. Then we should probably head to the prison. I don't want to be late – Bruce gets so few visits and phone calls!"

Niamh had spent some time applying extra make up before they left for the visit to the prison, she wanted to look her best for Bruce, and she wanted to hide her exhaustion from him. Lucius, Alfred and Niamh had all agreed to keep her nocturnal adventures a secret from Bruce. It would be easier that way, and there was nothing he could do from behind the restraints of the prison. Lucius and Niamh walked into the visiting room, being separated from Bruce by a plastic partition was harder than Niamh had anticipated that it would be. She still plastered a smile on her face, her heart leaping as she saw the smile that crossed his handsome face when he spotted her. Despite the smile Bruce flashed, he instantly became worried – Niamh looked exhausted, her face was pale and drawn. He also noticed some bruising on her forearms as she placed her bag on the floor before sitting down; cementing some of his suspicions. They exchanged greetings and small talk between the three of them for sometime; before the topic of business cropped up.

"Lucius thinks he might have found a lead on who is really behind the orders" Niamh smiled hopefully, trying to sound positive. "And Jim Gordon is looking into it, he says he'll do everything he can to help – so that's something!" She enthused. Bruce smiled at her lovingly, but he needed to talk to Lucius alone.

"Niamh, could you give legal a call, ask them to arrange a meeting with me here at the prison? I haven't got any more phone calls, but they can arrange it through the prison governor." Bruce requested. Niamh stood up and obediently left to make the phone call outside of the room. As soon as the door had closed Bruce eyed Lucius seriously, the older man felt the intensity of the gaze. Bruce picked up a newspaper that had been on the table next to him, and held it up to the bullet proof divider angrily "Explain" he said simply, Lucius shifted in his seat uncomfortably looking at the photograph of 'Batman'.

"More copycats Mr Wayne, in a way they are doing you a favour" Lucius began but Bruce shook his head forcefully.

"It won't wash Lucius. It's not a copycat, that suit is exactly the same as mine, and there is only one person who has one. And I thought no it can't be, but then Niamh walks in here looking exhausted and covered in bruises and I realised it must be true – it's her!"

"Look, I didn't know what she was planning until after she had done it the first evening. But it worked and then Niamh said she had to keep going – for you and Gotham! I wasn't happy about it either." Lucius tried to explain. Bruce ran his fingers through his dark hair, which was not in its normal peak condition.

"I don't like it Lucius. It's dangerous out there."

"I know, and so does she – but Niamh is good at it. I mean after all she was trained by the best" Lucius paused as the door opened and Niamh came back in, before continuing in a whisper "Look don't argue with her, she has been so looking forward to seeing you today. She knows what she's doing – trust her on this sir."

Bruce did as Lucius suggested and didn't even mention the Batman sightings or the vigilante obviously taking his place. Instead he used the time to speak to her, not knowing when he would have another chance.


	9. Chapter 9: Night Time Visits

Chapter 9: Night Time Visits.

As a police officer Commissioner Jim Gordon was allowed to visit prisoners in a private room in the prison, unless they were considered a high risk, which Bruce was not, bullet proof screens to separate them were not required. So Jim sat waiting for Bruce to appear, as he had been granted a meeting on official grounds. He had been waiting for nearly ten minutes when the door opened and Bruce was deposited in the room, resplendent in his orange jumpsuit, by two guards who then took up positions outside of the door.

"There's no bugs or cameras, I've already checked so we can talk freely" Gordon assured a not so dapper looking Bruce Wayne. "It's shocking that with the amount you would have had to supply in bail securities that they wouldn't let you out"

"They think I'd be a flight risk...something to do with the private jet and yacht. There's just no trust these days." Bruce joked. "Now what can I do for you Commissioner?"

"Miss Niel contacted me – lovely young lady by the way, she gave me a possible name, and I ran some checks. Obviously I'm anxious that our mutual friend isn't away for too long and that he is able to retain his anonymity until all of this business is straightened out" Gordon never referred to Bruce as Batman, despite him being one of the few who knew the masked man's true identity. "Leon Aguillon himself doesn't have any criminal convictions, not even a parking ticket. But I delved a little deeper and found out that he had several aliases. We believe that his real name is Andre Bayard." At the mention of this name, Bruce's eyes widened and he was visibly shocked. "You know him?"

"Yes. Yes I do and it is very bad news. Have you ever heard anything about the League of Shadows?" Bruce waited as a look of recognition registered on the older man's face, he nodded slowly.

"I always thought it was the stuff of legends, but I heard rumours that Bane was a member."

"They trained me – but I refused to kill as a punishment for crime – that would make me as bad as the criminal, so I was never fully initiated. The League was behind the drugging of the water supply and yes Bane was a member. But he was excommunicated by it's leader. Andre Bayard was that leaders right hand man. He was central to the League, he was the go to man; the one ensuring they had everything they needed. He was also a decent fighter. Are you sure it's him though? Niamh showed me a photo of the man we employed as Leon Aguillon and I didn't recognise him." Bruce explained

"Pretty sure, there's some evidence that he had some serious surgery in Mexico, he is now virtually unrecognisable." Jim pointed out "Plus he would have known that working for the company meant that he might bump into you and didn't want to be noticed. My guess is they were hoping to avoid notice for as long as possible and be out of harm's way by the time the ordering was discovered."

"But they got caught out, so he disappeared, still hoping they'd get away with it. Look Commissioner, if the League are the ones stock piling this stuff then they are planning something and it will be serious. Gotham is in danger and we need to stop them."

"Agreed. There is a problem with the 'we' in the situation though – you are stuck in here. Which brings me neatly around to another issue Mr Wayne. You are stuck in here!"

"You made that sound like a question" Bruce quirked an eyebrow

"It was, if you are locked away in here every night then who is wearing your outfit and acting as Batman? Very well I might add!" Gordon questioned. Bruce shrugged "Now Mr Wayne I think that you do know. I think that I know too. If you watch very closely, which I don't think anybody else will be doing, there's something slightly feminine about the way your replacement moves. And I've called hoping to speak to Niamh several evenings, to be stone walled by Alfred." Gordon left the suggestion hanging in the air, but Bruce didn't budge. Instead he stood "We'll keep working on locating Bayard and the weapons until we find them. Oh and I have to say Niamh is very good – maybe you two could work out some kind of job share when you get out of here?"

"You just keep an eye out in case she needs help" Was the only answer Bruce supplied that confirmed the identity of the temporary dark knight.

"What have you found?" Niamh demanded as she strode into the Bat cave, now adept at negotiating the difficult surface in her high heeled work shoes. Lucius and Alfred were stood at a large screen which depicted a map of the city.

"Well it's taken some time and we haven't got an address for Aguillon or Bayard or whatever you want to call him; but we think we have an address for an associate. They used to pull some jobs together before Bayard was discovered by the League of Shadows." Lucius handed her a post-it note with some writing on.

"Brilliant thank you!" Niamh enthused.

"So Miss Niel are you going to pass that on to Commissioner Gordon? Send the full force of the law to sort this mess out" Alfred questioned hopefully, although he knew how Bruce would have answered; Niamh considered the conundrum for a moment before a smirk appeared on her lips.

"No, I think this might require a different type of persuasion, we want information and I doubt being locked in a police cell will encourage this guy to talk. We'll just have to wait until nightfall" She explained lightly, as Alfred sighed.

"Two peas in a pod her and Bruce, eh Alfred?" Lucius nudged the Englishman as Niamh disappeared back up to the house.

Once darkness had fallen across the city, Niamh dressed in her suit and attached anything she thought she might need for the evenings activities to her belt, before clambering into the tumbler and heading out into the night. She used the darkness as a cover, not turning the lights on the vehicle on, moving like a ghost through the empty streets of the Narrows. Quietly and gracefully Niamh slipped through a window and landed on the floor below, the apartment was a mess, the others in the same building were long abandoned – probably a good thing for the night's proceedings. Instinct told her to check every room, no one except for the man she was looking for was inside, she shook her head when she found he had forgotten to lock the front door, chuckling as she remedied the situation for him. Then she moved onto the man himself, with the skill of a surgeon she deftly and delicately tied his ankles and wrists above the joints, preventing him from moving. Niamh looked around deciding how to go about what was next, she grinned as she saw the joists above his bed and grabbed the half eaten piece of toast he had left on the floor by his bed.

After perching herself on the joist above his head, Niamh began to tear the toasted bread and throw it at the man's face. After the third bit of dry toast hit his nose, his eyes fluttered open, then widened in surprise.

"There's no point screaming Martin, no one will hear you, and even fewer people would care" Niamh said, the small machine Lucius had delivered to her at the beginning of the week coming in useful in distorting her voice, no one would be able to tell she was a woman at all. "I just need to ask you a few questions" Niamh leapt off the wooden joist and landed with a foot either side of the man's chest; he looked terrified, especially when she crouched over him threateningly. Martin gave Niamh all the information she needed and more, before she had even harmed a hair on his head. When she had finished she used a pressure point on his neck to knock him out cold, without causing unnecessary pain; but it meant that she could untie him and get away quietly – and it looked authentic. Once back in the tumbler she removed the voice machine, it was uncomfortable against her throat, she laughed out loud as she turned the joystick towards the Manor, deciding she definitely had more of a taste for the theatrical than Bruce when it came to the Batman.


	10. Chapter 10: Baddies and Bullets

Chapter 10:Baddies and Bullets

Hidden in the shadows of the buildings opposite the target warehouse, Niamh fidgeted in her suit. It was hot and stuffy, but she couldn't remove any part of it without endangering herself and potentially revealing her identity. She watched as the police began to arrive around the corner from the location and decided it was time to climb. Nimbly she darted up the fire escape to the fourth floor window and carefully peered through looking at the empty section of the building. There were holes in the floor boards and others looked very fragile, through gaps in the ancient flooring she could see that the rest of the property was in a similar condition. Niamh crouched down and quickly sent a message to Jim Gordon warning him about the poor state of the structure, the more information they had about the raid the better.

Niamh waited until she heard the signal and both the front and back doors to the building being forced open, using that as a distraction she flung the window open and jumped through; almost losing her balance as part of the flooring shifted under her weight. She ran around the edge of the large room, her cape billowing out behind her as she went, the adrenaline coursing through her system, ears open for the sounds coming from the lower floors. Niamh had just descended a ladder to the floor below when she heard heavy footsteps thundering up the staircase at the other end of the floor; her instinct told her it wasn't a member of the task force that had been sent into the building and she had learnt to trust her instinct implicitly, so she melted into the shadows.

The man known as both Leon Aguillon and Andre Bayard, amongst other names, appeared breathlessly at the top of the stair case, eyes searching frantically for another way out. Niamh waited until he had passed her before stepping out of the darkness and speaking, with voice distorter in its uncomfortable position.

"Looks like it's just you and me" She said quietly, Andre wheeled around, breathing quickly. Gunshots sounded from somewhere below them "Sounds like police weapons discharging, maybe you are permanently on your own now." Panic rose in Andre's chest as he reached for his gun and fired off shots in Niamh's general direction, trying to turn and run. But Niamh was quicker and managed to get in front of him cape swishing, they struggled together. Andre managed to hit her throat with his hand dislodging the vocal apparatus; she would just have to avoid speaking or at least disguise her voice well if she did to avoid recognition. They fought on the floor, rolling around in the dust as both tried to gain the upper hand.

"I was with you when you were trained remember Bruce. I know you never learnt to mind your surroundings" Andre grinned edging Niamh towards a trapped door, which he intended to use to his advantage. Niamh managed a breathless grin, using her own voice was going to be of benefit.

"But I'm not Bruce and I was taught to always be aware of my surroundings" It was one lesson Bruce had been particularly insistent on and now Niamh knew why – it had caused him problems in the past. Andre couldn't hide his shock as he heard the female voice that spoke and realised that he wasn't fighting Bruce Wayne. Using the momentary surprise to her advantage Niamh freed one of her hands and flicked her wrist to throw one of her bat shaped missiles at a rope that was securing a beam above her assailants head. It cut straight through the rope and the beam fell, as planned hitting Andre square on the head, knocking him out. Rolling his heavy body off her, Niamh rolled to her knees, to secure his hands behind his back throwing his gun to one side after emptying the ammunition. She stood up, dusting some of the dirt from her clothing out of habit and puffing out some deep breaths as she surveyed her work. Niamh was exhausted and desperately needed to sleep. She heard Gordon's voice shout as he led a team up the staircase Andre had used, Niamh scurried back up the ladder and perched by the open window she had used a few moments earlier making sure Andre was discovered by the right people. She heard Jim order some of the other officers to drag him out and make sure his rights were read as soon as he regained consciousness.

"Batman saved us again eh lads!" Gordon half sang "I told you it was nothing to do with Wayne – I'll call the prison now and have him released right away" He made the last comment in a voice that was louder than necessary for Niamh's benefit. A grin spread across her face, Bruce was coming home.

Police officers were swarming around the building and the streets surrounding it, so Niamh couldn't leave straight away and return to the tumbler without being seen. She had to wait half an hour until the distraction of the forensic unit arrived and she could dash from her hiding place to a roof opposite and then down to the dimly lit streets. As she drove the long route home, so that she could enter the cave via the waterfall, Niamh was surprised at how tired she felt and how cold she was. It was a warm spring evening and she was wearing a ridiculous amount of clothing and equipment, she really shouldn't have been feeling the chill. She parked at an odd angle, running out of energy to halt the vehicle properly; she saw Bruce and Alfred standing at one of the large tables covered with maps. She pulled her mask from her face as she ran through the pool of water to them. Bruce lifted her up in an embrace and twirled her around, before kissing her lips softly. He had returned to his jeans and a t-shirt, neither were a garish shade of orange.

"Oh it's good to see you" Niamh buried her head in his shoulder as her feet touched the ground.

"It's good to be home. I hear you've been doing a good job in my absence" Bruce grinned.

"What can I say? I was taught by the best. I could sleep for a month now though" Niamh tried to joke, but Bruce wanted to discuss some serious issues.

"I would rather that you hadn't taken my place though – it's dangerous out there!" He admonished; Niamh's eyes widened slightly and she looked past Bruce to Alfred, who rolled his eyes at the irony of the situation.

"I know its dangerous Bruce, but you trained me to deal with any threats and someone had to do something. How the hell do you think I've felt for the last eighteen months or so knowing that you go out there and do that every night?" Niamh retorted "Now you know how hard it is, knowing that someone you love is at risk and you can't do anything to change that. I may not be in prison but I couldn't have stopped you from doing what you do anyway, not that I would have tried. It's hard and just you remember that, when I hang up my cape and mask and you put yours back on!" She bit out the last sentence. She had discovered for herself why Bruce was unable to give Batman up for long.

"I'm used to taking risks!" Bruce tried to counter

"Are you two really going to fight right at this moment? I've served some champagne in the drawing room, but if you think arsenic would be more appropriate it can be arranged!" Alfred chimed in looking from one to the other in mild amusement. Niamh and Bruce both turned to look at him and started laughing despite themselves "Give me strength" Alfred muttered as he began heading towards the steps up to the steel elevator.

"Look how about we agree to forget about it all now? Tonight was my last outing in Batman's place, we got away with it. And the most important thing is that you are back here where you belong." Niamh suggested, as Bruce placed his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"With you?"

"Yes with me!" She agreed

"I think we could both do with some of that champagne and a decent night's sleep" He winked at Niamh who was still smiling at him

"Agreed, let me just get this ridiculousness off, I'm absolutely exhausted – maybe it's hitting me because I know that it's all over now and I can sleep." Niamh suggested moving away slightly, starting to undo the suit. Bruce turned to say something to her as she cried out in pain. His brow creased with concern and he rushed forward to help as Niamh's legs collapsed underneath her.

"What is it Niamh what's wrong? Alfred wait!" Bruce yelled at the man who turned and hurried back. Niamh couldn't speak through the unbearable pain; she held her shoulder where the pain was the most intense. Bruce lifted her hand and pushed her cape aside as gently as possible to reveal a bullet wound that was bleeding profusely in her shoulder. The bullet had entered where the Kevlar sections of the suit joined and it was weakest. Niamh's eyes rolled back in her head as another wave of pain hit her.


	11. Chapter 11: Special Date

Chapter 11: Special Date

Author's Note: At last the final chapter is here! Just thought I would round things off. I'm so sorry for such a long delay, but my Nan passed away and so I haven't had time to get any writing done!

Bruce was pacing the long corridor outside his bedroom impatiently, Alfred had contacted the doctor who had been charged with treating some of Bruce's more serious injuries in the past; he was extremely well compensated for his trouble and did not ask questions. Lucius had let himself in and strolled around the Manor until he found a tense looking Bruce.

"Welcome home Mr Wayne. Is everything alright?"  
"No!" Bruce stressed "Niamh got shot in the raid, the injury is to her shoulder and the wound is deep. Alfred and a doctor are in there with her now – I got kicked out." He sat down on a chair abruptly not knowing what else to. Lucius sat opposite him, deciding to wait with him in silence.

After what felt like an eternity Alfred appeared, shrugging back into his jacket. He gave a small smile

"The doctor's just finishing up. He says that Miss Niel will be fine, she should make a full recovery – although it could take a little while!" Bruce breathed out a huge sigh of relief. "You can go in when he leaves Master Wayne, but she will be asleep for a good while yet; which is the best thing for her."

The following morning, Bruce left Niamh's side momentarily to shower and change; he had sat with her through the night sleeping in a chair right next to the bed. Not long after he returned to his bedside vigil her eyes fluttered open, Bruce moved to perch on the edge of her bed.

"Good morning! How do you feel this morning?"

"Groggy" She paused, frowning "And I ache all over, especially my shoulder" Niamh explained, having no recollection of the events of the past evening. Bruce filled her in, and soon the pain became understandable.

Several Weeks Later:

Following her injury, Niamh had taken a considerable period off work to recover and recuperate; the official excuse was that she had contracted a serious viral infection. Even Niamh herself had to admit she was in some ways enjoying her time off, the sun had been blazing over Gotham almost every day, and it had allowed her to spend time with Bruce. Time that was not filled with worries about work and covering his part time identity. The couple were sat on the lawn, drinking ice tea and enjoying the evening warmth.

"Part of me doesn't want to go back to work ever!" Niamh smiled up to the sky

"Well I'd say you don't have to, but you already know that – you just dislike the idea of being a kept woman." Bruce reminded her.

"I'd be bored to tears and I'd go insane!" Niamh laughed, it was true; it wasn't like they needed her wage – after all it came from Bruce anyway, but she had her pride.

"Anyway, you aren't going back to work just yet; so can we just concentrate on tonight"

"Why what's so special about tonight?" Niamh mused, worrying she had forgotten an important date.

"Wait and see!" Bruce grinned, standing up and motioning for her to do the same. They walked through some of the gardens, Bruce began telling Niamh about some of his plans to alter them and landscape some of the areas. Finally they reached the pond – well Bruce called it the pond, but Niamh was almost certain that due to its size it did in fact class as a lake. The sun was setting and they just stood looking out at the water for a few moments in silence.

"So what is so special about tonight?" Niamh demanded her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Well it's a very special date. You should put it in your diary, you're the organised one remember" Bruce teased. Niamh looked totally confused.

"What have I forgotten? What happened?"

"It's the date I proposed!" Bruce explained calmly.

"Ahhh" Niamh began, then she realised exactly what he had said, and looked at him mouth open in shock as he got down onto one knee in front of her.

"What do you say then? Niamh Niel will you marry this selfish, playboy billionaire businessman and keep him on the straight and narrow?"

"I tell you what – I'll marry the amazing, generous, brave, and handsome hero!" She beamed happily before adding "That's you by the way Mr Wayne!"


End file.
